Hired Hottie

“You thought what?”

Pursing her lips, she mutters, “I thought you had a thing for Levi.?

?

“Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner.”

“Then why give his friend your number?”

“Because Levi doesn’t have a thing for me,” I explain.

Eyes narrowed, she hums, “Hmmm…,” before setting aside the rag and tapping her foot against the floor.

“Hmmm?”

“I just…hmmm.”

“Spit it out, Indie. I’m dying here.”

“Let me ask you this. If Levi tried anything with you, would you pursue it?”

I’m pretty sure I’m the color of a lobster as soon as the words tried anything slip past her lips.

“Did he try anything?” she presses, her lids lower to tiny slits of suspicion.

“Umm…yes and no.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Details, Charlie! Gah! No wonder Natalie and Sophie were so frustrated with me,” she adds under her breath.

Laughing, I ask, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“When I first started seeing Rhett, those girls said it was like pulling teeth to get any details out of me, and I finally see where they were coming from. Now spit it out, Charlie!”

“Fiiine. We sorta, maybe kissed last night. But it wasn’t a real kiss—”

“How was it not a real kiss?” Indie interrupts, confused. “Did your lips touch?”

“Well yes—”

“Then it was a real kiss.”

“No, because it was for…research purposes?” It comes out more like a question than an answer, but I can’t think of a better description of what our kiss was.

“Research purposes?”

“Yeah. He asked why I wouldn’t give his friend, Conner, my number, and I told him it’s because I get too nervous around the opposite sex. He mentioned how I’m not nervous around him and asked if he could help me get more comfortable with other guys.”

“So, he offered to kiss you?” Indie’s voice is laced with disbelief, and I can tell she’s sitting on pins and needles, fully invested in the story.

“Yup.”

“And then you kissed?”

“Yup.”

“For research purposes?”

I laugh, dryly. “Sure did.”